"There's
probably a lot of answers that we're giving in the second half that
probably could have waited until season two, but we felt that we
should 'smoke them if we've got them,' " he said. "We knew what
some of our answers were, and we knew that we had these big reveals
up our sleeve, and there just wasn't any reason to withhold them.
So we just started spending our coin, and I think the episodes
reflect that. I think you'll look at the second half and there's
probably no one episode that doesn't have at least one big moment
that either unveils more mythology or is a seminal moment in one of
the character's lives that transforms them, and we really work hard
to make sure there's something like that in every episode."

Kripke said that,
within the first three new episodes, "Rachel reveals pretty much
every single thing there is to know about why the blackout happened."

"(Director) Jon
Favreau was hanging out with us in the writer's room and we were
discussing the problem that, as a character, Rachel knew why the
blackout happened, and she was back in and among heroes -- she
wasn't captive anymore -- and we were really wrestling with the
question, 'Well, why wouldn't she just tell them?' And then Jon ...
came in and was able to provide much needed perspective. (He) just
looked at me; he was like, 'She would tell them, so have her tell
them.' And I said, 'Yes, you're right, you're right; she would say
it, so she has to say.' And so she does.

"And so we
reveal really why the blackout happened, but the card I think we have
up our sleeve is, I think, the explanation really opens the door to
much greater story possibility."

NBC is hoping
"Revolution," and its lead-in, "The Voice," are the aces up
its sleeve in what has become a sinking season, ratings-wise. The
network was surging when these two series last aired during the
holiday season. Since then, NBC has fallen -- hard -- into a
viewership slump.

Kripke said he
isn't sure why "Revolution" found favor with fans while other
"event" shows -- including "Terra Nova," "V," and, yes,
"The Event" -- failed to find a footing in recent seasons.

"Any
writer who knows why his stuff works is lying," he said. "But I
have my theories, but mostly I'm just grateful that people seem to be
connecting with it, and I'm greatly appreciative that they're
watching."

Kripke
suggested part of what makes "Revolution" different from other
big-ticket dramas is its approach to storytelling.

"My
theory or my hope is because we actually put the -- yes, it's a
genre show, but we try very hard to put the genre on the back-burner
and put the characters front and center," he said. "And our focus
in the writer's room is not 'What's the trippy, mind-bending concept'
-- although we certainly love those -- our focus is, 'Well, how do
those concepts bring out new dimensions of our characters, and how do
we make it as emotional as possible, and how do we make these
characters as fraught and complicated and tortured as possible?'

"Because,
look, here's the truth of episodic television, which is you really
want every episode -- you want every episode's storyline to be
great, but the reality is the sheer volume of work means that some
are great, and some of your stories as a writer suck out loud. But if
the characters take and the actors create amazing characters, which I
think they're doing, then viewers get invested. I don't think they
get invested in any particular storyline, they get invested in the
characters. And if the characters are working, then the series works.
And conversely, it doesn't matter how cool your concept is; if the
characters aren't appealing or relatable to the audience, then it
will never work."

From
an actor's standpoint, Mitchell, who scored with hit ensembles "ER"
and "Lost," said "Revolution" works because its cast members
create characters worthy of our time and investment.

"I
love ensembles, I think mainly, because I started in theater and I
love that idea," she explained. "What keeps people happy and
engaged is good work, great words, and then I think coming together
there's a lot of ... 'Lost' was the same way. We were all very
supportive, but everybody came ready to play. And I think if you have
that attitude and there's not ego, which is also the case on
'Revolution,' which I really like, then it's fun.

"You
go in and it's fun; and you play together, and you antagonize each
other on camera, and you love each other on camera, and you hate each
other on camera, and then you go off and you try to figure out how to
make it even better, and you come back and you try to do that. And
that ... collaboration of a group is and has always been very
exciting to me. I think it elevates everybody. You rise to the
occasion, and I love that."